Bernie Nowakowski has been named the new head football coach at
Sussex Tech.
The longtime assistant coach at the Georgetown school is replacing Bill Collick, who retired from the position after posting a 52-48 record in 10 seasons with the Ravens.
"Those are tough footsteps to follow in," Nowakowski, an assistant under his predecessor from 2000-07 and then again last season, told the Sussex County Post. "But I’ve learned a lot from Coach Collick. He’s a tremendous communicator with players and parents and coaches and people in general. He’s a great human being. A big part of his success was being able to get people to buy into what he was doing.
"I am filling some big shoes, but the best thing I can do is to be myself. I will put my spin into the program and make sure it continues to move forward."
Nowakowski, 38, takes over a team that went 9-2 last season and earned a bid to the Division I state tournament.
"We are very excited about the level of energy, dedication and enthusiasm that Bernie will be bringing to our players, program and school," Sussex Tech athletic director Joe Thomson said in an e-mail. "He is a disciplined young coach whose leadership qualities are easy to follow."
2. Middletown remains only undefeated baseball team in Flight A: With a 10-0 win over A.I. du Pont and a 13-2 victory against Brandywine this past week, Middletown (8-2, 8-0 Flight A) remains the only unbeaten team in the Blue Hen Flight A Conference. Senior Scott Adkins’ three-run home run, combined with senior Chad Kuhl’s dominant pitching, keyed the win over the Tigers. Senior Tyler Pitts picked up the win on the mound and Luis Prado went 3 for 3 to spark the offense against the Bulldogs. Middletown finished its week with an 8-3 nonconference loss to St. Mark’s (9-0).
3. Sallies tops Cape in battle of top boys lax teams: Salesianum (Wilmington) scored the first three goals of its home game against Cape Henlopen in less than three minutes and looked poised to cruise to an easy win. But the Sals needed a solid goaltending performance from senior Dan Rodgers to stave off a determined Vikings team before finally coming away with a 9-7 win in a nonconference showdown Tuesday afternoon. Sophomore Dillon Walker and freshman Sean Giampietro each scored three goals and Rodgers finished with 11 saves to earn the win for Sallies (6-1). Senior Aaron Tartal had two goals for Cape Henlopen (7-2).
4. Tower Hill needs OT to edge St. Andrew’s: Senior Katherine Applegate tied the game with just seconds remaining in regulation, enabling junior Kali Digate to knock home the game-winner with 2:28 left in the second overtime to give Tower Hill (Wilmington) a thrilling 13-12 win over St. Andrew’s in girls lacrosse action Friday afternoon. DiGate led all scorers with five goals and Applegate finished with four. The Hillers (6-1) remain undefeated against Delaware opponents, with their lone loss coming against The Hill School (Pa.)
First-rate performances in the First State
* Joseph Woerner (Hodgson Vo-Tech): The senior attackman scored seven goals in a 12-8 win over McKean and five goals in an 11-3 win over Pencader Charter. "Joe is a hockey player, which makes his shot incredibly hard to read," Hodgson coach Steve Shipe said of the Silver Eagles’ leading scorer (32 goals).
* Carolyn Szymanski (Caravel Academy): The freshman pitcher hurled a no-hitter with 13 strikeouts to lead the Lady Bucs to a 10-0 win over Red Lion Christian Academy on Wednesday. Szymanski also picked up shutout wins against Caravel (6-0) and rival Hodgson Vo-Tech (7-0) last week.
* Daniel Gatto (Dover High School): The senior right-handed pitcher tossed a three-hit shutout and helped himself with three hits as Dover High blanked Polytech, 8-0, in a Henlopen Conference baseball game Tuesday afternoon.
* Leigh Kaminski (Charter of Wilmington): The high-scoring junior tallied 13 goals in three games last week against Newark (5 goals), A.I. du Pont (7) and St. Mark’s (1).
Recruiting news
* The University of Florida has officially offered a football scholarship to Dover lineman Trip Thurman. The 6-foot-6, 311-pound junior tackle has already received 15 offers from Division I schools.
* Salesianum infielder Zach Lopes has signed a letter of intent to attend Coastal Carolina on a baseball scholarship.
* Hodgson pitcher Jamie Treml has accepted a baseball scholarship from Wilmington College.
* Caesar Rodney two-time all-state defensive end Josh Ferris will be a preferred walk-on at Coastal Carolina.
* Dover center Pieter Prinsloo has accepted a scholarship offer to play basketball at Marist College.
Games to watch
* Baseball: St. Mark's (Wilmington, Del.) (9-0) and Salesianum (Wilmington, Del.) (8-1) will renew perhaps the state’s biggest rivalry when they square off at Frawley Stadium on Tuesday at 6.
* Girls lax: Tower Hill (6-1) hosts St. Mark's (Wilmington, Del.) (6-1) on Tuesday at 3:45 in what could be a preview of a state tournament playoff game.
* Boys lax: Salesianum (Wilmington, Del.) (6-1) hosts Archmere Academy (Claymont, Del.) (9-0) on Tuesday at 4 at Baynard Stadium.
The buzz
Middletown announced last week its boys lacrosse team forfeited games against William Penn and Delcastle after discovering several players participated without the proper physical form on file. Fortunately, or unfortunately, for the Cavs, their 2-8 record means those two extra losses probably won’t be the ones to keep them out of the state tournament. … Middletown junior Marquis Dendy set a new state record in the triple jump (50-10.75) at the Penn Relays, becoming just the sixth high school Delawarean to win an individual event at the carnival. Dendy, as you can imagine, is also a Dennis Rodman-like rebounder on the basketball team. Time will tell if the lanky forward plays basketball next year or instead chooses to focus on track and field, which will most likely be his free ticket to college.
Jon Buzby is the sports columnist for the Newark Post, a freelance writer, and occasional color commentator for the 1290 AM The Ticket High School Football Game of the Week. You can reach him at jonbuzby@hotmail.com.